Day 182: And That's a Wrap for Regular Season Baseball

Well folks... the 2013 MLB regular season is officially ends today and for the first time since 2009, the Red Sox will see some October action. It makes me happy and nervous all at once. While I love October baseball, when the Sox are involved, I spend the entire playoffs in a severe anxious state. Please pass the Xanax.

The results looks a little something like this:

American League:
East—Boston Red Sox are Champions of the East after completing a magical worst to first turnaround. They also clinch home field advantage with the best record in the AL.
Central—Detroit Tigers win the Central for the third straight season.
West—Oakland A's also repeat as West winners and prove there's something to that Moneyball.

National League:
East—Atlanta Braves finally win the division after finishing the last three seasons in second place.
Central—St. Louis Cardinals clinch not only the Central, but also the best record in the NL and home field advantage.
West—Los Angeles Dodgers made a miraculous about face earlier in the season. They were dead last at the end of June and looking pretty bad.

Wildcard:
American League: This gets tricky. There are three teams tied for the two wild card spots—Tampa Bay, Texas and Cleveland. So Tampa will play at Texas tomorrow and the winner of that game will face Cleveland on Tuesday. The winner of that game will face the Red Sox on Friday.
National League: The surprising Pittsburgh Pirates will play the Cincinnati Reds in a one-game playoff on Tuesday, October 1st.

AL Divisional Playoff Match-ups:
Detroit at Oakland
Tampa, Texas or Cleveland at Boston

NL Divisional Playoff Match-ups:
LA Dodgers at Atlanta
Pittsburgh/Cincinnati at St. Louis

So here we go! This is where the fun (and my prescription drug abuse) begins!